Knight
by LauraRogue
Summary: Future Fic. Hanna Castle goes to the Twelfth for an interview and is asked out by a Detective, only he doesn't know she is the boss's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

She could not believe it. She is convinced that her boss did this on purpose. Her first solo assignment and she is sent the Twelfth! She knows she won't encounter any problems with the officers, but she also really wanted make a name for herself instead of relying upon her family's connections.

Growing up in a rather eccentric and rambunctious household had given her the skills to deal with just about anything and working for almost two years at the NY Times had only solidified those skills into the confident and competent women she was. So, with head held high, she pinned on her shiny press badge and entered the Precinct. The Sergeant on duty gave her a smile and waved her through. A few minutes later, the doors to the elevator opened and cacophony of sounds from the homicide floor washed over her. Oddly enough, it was almost like coming home. Dodging busy cops and one very obstinate witness on his way to interrogation, she finally reached the Captains door.

"Good morning, Captain. Do you have a moment?"

"Morning, Sweetheart. Come on in." Kate Beckett- Castle, veteran of the Twelfth Precinct waved her daughter in as she hung up the phone.

"Mom," Hanna responded with a frown as she sat in the chair across the desk, "this is an official assignment. Not a social visit. I'm here to learn about the Columbia case."

"Well, then, I can officially say nothing."

"C'mon. You've had this case for a few hours now, and my sources say it is open and shut."

"Your sources, hmm? And just who would that be?"

"I haven't accessed the family grapevine yet, if that's what you're asking." She was beginning to feel more and more irritated with this assignment and her mother now that she was here.

"Oh, Hanna. I'm just teasing you." Sometimes her daughter was a little too much like Kate, a little too serious and intense. "Where's Bob?"

"He is working on another assignment." She tried to say it in a sort of disinterested tone, as though it wasn't significant. But, inside, Hanna was brimming with satisfaction and determination.

"So, this is your first solo?" Kate asked in confirmation, pride in her child's accomplishments filling her entire being. Hanna didn't answer her mother aloud. She simply gave her a small smile and a brief nod. "Oh, Honey! Congratulations." Kate spoke as she stood, and lifted her arms to embrace her daughter. But, Hanna, still wanting to maintain a degree of professionalism, stood just as quickly and took a step back. A brief flash of hurt flared in her mom's eyes before acknowledgement softened her face. In addition to being serious and intense about her work, Hanna also rarely allowed public displays of affection, even from her family. Rick had been right, when she was little, he said the girl was just like Kate, and he was right. "Alright. Back to business, we can celebrate later. I really can't disclose any information on this case." Seeing that her daughter was about to protest, she lifted her hand to stop her. "Because, I have been swamped with paperwork," disgust filled her voice at the word paperwork. "and I haven't had an update from my Detectives yet. Let's see…" Kate's voice trailed off and she shuffled through the papers on her desk, "Evans and Rawlings have this one. You can talk to one of them."

"Alright. Thanks, Captain."

"Dinner at the Old Haunt tonight? To celebrate?"

"Sure Mom."

Out on the floor, Detectives and officers still hurried about their jobs. She took a quick breathe and the marched over to the white murder board she could see set up next to her mom's old desk. Although she had only been five when her mom was made Captain, Hanna could still remembered her dad bringing her and her brother to the Precinct to visit. Her mom would put aside whatever she was working on, lift her up onto her lap and just hold her tightly. After all these years, they were some of her favorite memories.

There were no Detectives at the board or their desks, but they were bound to be back eventually, so she sat down at one and pulled out her tablet to review her notes and the questions she wanted to ask them when they did arrive. She had barely begun when a shadow appeared, covering her screen, and someone cleared their throat loudly behind her. She looked up into the most incredible green eyes she had ever seen.

"Can I help you miss?" He asked. The one thing Hanna had picked up from her dad, well maybe her dad and her mom, was her ability to think on her feet. She always had an answer at the ready. But for the first time in her life, no answer came. It wasn't until his partner spoke that she was able to break whatever spell he had held over her.

"Hanna. What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Detective Evans. It's nice to see you again." She said a she stood to shake hands with the elder man. "I have a few questions about your case."

"Well, Rookie here," he answered with a grin as he clapped his beefy hand to the younger man's shoulder, "will answer any questions you have."

"Thanks, Evans. I needed a good excuse for a coffee break. Those phone records are on my desk." Rawlings responded with a grin of his own as he pointed to the thick stack of papers on his desk and whisked Hanna away to the break room. "So, Miss...?"

"Knight. Hanna Knight. I'm a reporter for the NY Times." Technically her name was Johanna Castle, but she used Knight at work. She had learned long ago that people treat you differently when they know your parents are rich and famous.

"Miss Knight. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Detective Nate Rawlings. Can interest you in a coffee?"

"Expresso, please." Hanna answered. If he felt any surprise at all, he hid it well as he walked over to the counter and made two expressos.

"Well today is your lucky day, because this floor does in fact have an expresso machine." She did not intend to tell him that her father had bought the expensive coffee maker.

"So, what would you like to know?" He asked before taking a small sip of his drink.

"What can you tell me about the murder of a young woman at Columbia early this morning? Who is she? Do you have any suspects yet?" Although he had been polite and professional, any glint of good humor left his eyes immediately to be replaced by some emotion she could not place. He took another sip to compose himself before answering. By then, whatever it had been was gone and the mask of professionalism was firmly back in place.

"The victim was a student there. Her name is Angela Jackson, age 23, she was an art major. We spoke to her roommate Katie Ryan who said that the young woman was having trouble with her boyfriend. We sent a team to bring him in for questioning but he seems to have gone awol. That is all we have at this time."

"Did you say her roommate is Katie Ryan?"

"Yes. She is also an art major." Hanna was struck with indecision. She needed to finish the interview, but her heart cried out for her to call her cousin immediately. Well, biologically the two were not cousins. Katie Ryan was the third daughter of Kevin and Jenny Ryan, best friends to her parents, so of course the children had grown up together. Katie and Hanna were especially close.

"Did she find her? Was she killed in the apartment?" Her voiced quaked slightly a she asked. If Detective Rawlings answered with an affirmative, she would be out of the Precinct and on her way to Katie in the blink of an eye.

"No. She was in class at the time of the murder. Angela was killed in the building, but not in her apartment. The apartment manager was the one to actually find the girl and call it in." Intense relief flooded Hanna.

"Do you have any suspects besides her boyfriend?"

"He is not a suspect at this time; he is just wanted for questioning."

"Come now, Detective, that's pretty much the same thing." Hanna tried to persuade him to give a more definitive answer, but Rawlings was immovable.

"Do you have any other questions, Miss Knight?"

"No. Thank you for your time, Detective." She offered her hand. Her parents had taught her, and then her sense of journalist professionalism had further this lesson, that you shook hands at the beginning and end of an interview. Rawlings, however, rather than letting go at the end, held on.

"Would you like to have drinks with me tonight?" His question, while not at all opposed, was a complete surprise.

"Sure." She replied. "Do you know the Old Haunt?" Since her dad had bought it way back when he had first begun shadowing then Detective Kate Beckett, it had become a favorite hangout of the Twelfth. Rawlings, being new to the Precinct had yet to visit the place, but it would have been impossible to work at the Twelfth without hearing of it.

"Yes. Meet you there at 8 o'clock?

"It's a date." Hanna Castle retracted her hand, gathered her coat and bag and left.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hanna!"

Hanna looked up her tablet where she had been editing her story to see Katie Ryan headed her way. She glanced down at her wristwatch, amazed that an hour had passed already. She had been so focused that she hadn't heard a thing, but now that that focus had been broken, she could ready the steady buzz of conversation in the crowded café.

"Katie! Thank God, you're okay! I was assigned the story and almost left in the middle of my interview when I heard it was your roommate." Hanna exclaimed as she gave the girl a fierce, tight hug. Hanna had also gone to Columbia, but she had graduated two years ago. Katie, at 22, was almost done with her Art Degree at the same school.

"Yeah. I- I can't believe she's dead. I mean she was fine yesterday, and-"

"Hey. It's okay."

"Growing up with a cop for a dad, you'd think I'd wouldn't be as shocked by this as I am, but…"

"Why don't you pack a bag and come stay at my place. At least for a few days."

"I would, but Beth already told me I'm staying with her." Katie answered with a short watery laugh. Beth, Katie's sister, was 23 and also studying at Columbia- it was a family thing that Hanna's sister Alexis had started. Nearly everyone within their familial group since had followed in her footsteps and studied at Columbia.

"Well, if you change your mind, or she gets on her nerves, you know where to come." Hanna answered with a small laugh as well. Beth was well intentioned, but she could be super bossy sometimes. No one knows where it came from since her parents were rather mild-mannered, but everyone suspected that she got it from Aunt Lanie somehow. No one was quite sure how, but somehow.

"Can we talk about something else? What's new with you, Hanna?" Katie asked in an attempt to change the subject, not realizing that what her cousin was about to say still stemmed from the previous topic.

"Well, I got my first solo."

"Really? That so awesome! Congratulations."

"Thanks. It's the case, actually." She said in a low voice. Katie's face immediately dimmed. "And I have a date tonight." Hanna then let slip. Of course, since she hadn't gone in a date, even a casual one, in several months, Katie latched on to this news quickly, and with gusto.

"A date! With who?"

"A Detective at the Twelfth."

"Hanna, I'm happy for you. But, is that really a good idea? You always said you would never do that."

"I know, but Katie," she answered with a fawning sigh at the remembrance of Rawlings, "I don't know. He seemed nice. And, his eyes…" She said with another sigh. Hanna had always been a sucker for beautiful eyes.

"Wow."

"What?" She asked a note of defense coloring her voice.

"You should have seen your face. You looked smitten."

"Katie, please. I don't even know the guy. I'm not in love with him."

"Maybe not. But you like him."

"Yeah, I think I do." She said with a small smile.  
The two girls spent the next hour talking about other things, mostly Katie's art projects, before they had to leave the café, Katie for a studio session and Hanna to turn in her story to her editor.

"Hey, don't forget to stop by Remy's at 6, if you finish on time.

"I'll try. And don't you forget to tell me how your date goes."

"Yeah, yeah." Hana groused.

"Bye."

"Bye, Katie. Before careful."

"I will, Hanna. Don't worry. I've got to go. Talk to you soon." And with that they younger woman flew out the door and down the street. Meanwhile, Hanna still had work to do. Her editor had said he wanted her piece by 4pm and it was already 3 o'clock. Then dinner with her parents, and probably some other family members, and drinks at 8… She had a lot left to do today.


	3. Chapter 3

Her editor hadn't liked what she had written. So, he made her write it again. Which meant that she hadn't left the office until 5:30pm. And with traffic, it was almost an hour later that she finally made it to Remy's. And, of course, all this meant that she wouldn't have time to change before going to the Old Haunt at 8pm. What a day.

Remy's. Just opening the door and smelling those juicy hamburgers and greasy French fries was enough to help he unwind form the stress of the day. And, seeing her family gathered in the back finished what that delicious smell had begun. It was nearly impossible not to smile at the rather loud crowd in the back, but then she could see from the door- and hear- that Tamara, Mateo, and Katherine were having some sort of debate over which Harry Potter was the best. Tamara and Mateo were her Uncle Javier and Aunt Lanie's youngest two kids. They were 13 and 10, and so much younger than herself that they were almost more like her niece and nephew. Katherine, however, really was her niece. She was the only child of her older sister, Alexis, whom, Hanna was very pleased to see.

Her mother saw her first, of course she did, that woman had never lost her edge, even though Kate Beckett-Castle was now 60 years old. Kate smiled and waved at her daughter. This action prompted the children to ceased their animated discussion and run to her. Hanna was a rather private person and didn't indulge of displays of affection often, but that never stopped these three from racing to see who could hug her first. She allowed it, enjoyed it even, although she would never admit it.

"Hi Aunt Hanna." Katherine had been first due to a scuffle between the two Esposito siblings.

"Hey Kat. How are you doing? How's school?"

"I'm good. School is boring." Katherine, affectionately called Kat by her family and friends, voiced her displeasure. She had enjoyed school until this year, no one in the family knew why she suddenly found it "boring" but figured it was just a phase since she maintained all As.

"Boring! How can school be boring?"

"It just is."

"Well what about your violin lessons?"

"Oh yeah! I love those. I am getting a lot better. And mom said that she will do a duet with me!" The child's demeanor did a 180-degree spin as she recounted her success on her violin. She had only begun a few months ago, but truly was very good at it. Everyone said she inherited it from her mom who had played violin in her youth.

"Hey Sweetheart." Her mom gave her a short hug as she said this. "We were beginning to wonder if you had forgotten."

"Or gotten kidnapped by aliens." Her dad, of course. No one else in the family could say such a thing and sound so sincere at the same time. Her dad was also the only other one in the family, besides the young ones, who could hug her without receiving a complaint. In fact, a small part of Hanna thought that if the day ever came where he didn't give her a big bear hug as soon as he had her in arm's reach, that she might cry.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I was captured by aliens. They said they wanted to eat me, but I was too tuff." Sarcasm coated her voice thickly.

Rick pretended to look pained but her words for a brief moment before he grinned widely. "Well, at least they let you go. We ordered you're usual, was that alright?"

"Sure." She said. Inwardly she grimaced at thought of what those onion rings would do to her breathe.

"I got fires for you instead of onion rings tonight, Honey. I hope that was okay." Kate informed Hanna with a mischievous gleam in her eye. How was it that her mom always knew when something was happening, or might be happening, or did happen? Especially if she wasn't, isn't or won't be around when it happens?!

"Yeah… Thanks."

"Congratulations on your first solo assignment, Sis." Alexis chimed in, once she had managed to reign in the children.

"Thanks, Lex! How is your case going?"

"Well, the Judge moved up my court date to Thursday instead of next Monday. I'm not sure I will have everything ready in time."

"Alexis, be honest. You had all the paperwork and everything else you will need ready a week ago." Hanna teased her older sibling.

"Well, not quite a week ago, only a few days ago." She answered with a self-deprecating smile. "Good thing too since Tam and Mat are staying the night."

"When will John be back from his conference? He should be home later tonight. I spoke to him earlier and he said to tell you congrats and I quote "Knock 'em dead, Squirt."" Alexis laughed.

"Squirt! Honestly, I wish he would forget that nickname, I'm not 15 anymore."

Just then, everyone's food was served. It was delicious as always. Alexis and Kate continued to discuss day-to-day things, with the kids and Rick chiming in occasionally. Meanwhile, Hanna relaxed and enjoyed listening to her family and enjoyed their presence. Her mom glanced over at her at one point, gave her a small half smile, and a wink before diving back into the conversation.

At the end of the meal, Hanna tried to excuse herself without causing a fuss, but was unsuccessful.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry? Since Alexis has the kids, why don't you come with your mom and me down to the Old Haunt for a celebratory drink?" Her dad asked as she stood and reached for her coat.

"Thanks, Dad, but I have plans tonight."

"Plans? What are you-" His next question ended in a grunt as his wife elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Hanna has things other than entertaining you to do. Have a good night, Sweetheart." And just like that, Hanna's suspicion that her mom somehow knew about her date with Rawlings tonight was confirmed. But, since she was providing a distraction and a chance at a relatively clean getaway, she let it slide. Hanna mouthed a silent thank you and left.

It was 7:30pm, the young woman had just enough time to get to the Old Haunt. However, traffic once again conspired so that she was fashionably late.

Stepping into the bar was like taking a step back in time. Her dad had designed it that way on purpose; he had told her so many times. The dim lights and old style furniture only furthered that atmosphere. Robbie the bartended nodded to her as she came in. It was relatively uncrowded, but it was only Tuesday. After a few moments of searching, Hanna saw Detective Rawlings sitting in a corner booth in a secluded corner. He rose as she walked over, helped her out of her coat and pulled out her chair. He certainly received brownie points for his courteous actions; her dad would approve, she thought to herself.

She had barely sat down when Tracy came over to get their orders.

"Hey Hanna. Haven't seen you in a while." She greeted with genuine cheerfulness.

"I've been busy."

"Well, what can I get for you? The usual?" Hanna only nodded an affirmative. "And for you?"

"I'll have a rum and coke." Rawlings answered.

"Coming right up. Good to see you Hanna. If you need anything else just wave me down." She said as she left to fill their orders.

"So, come here often?" Rawlings inquired, curious as to what her 'usual' was and how she had acquired it.

"Do you often use such cheesy pick-up lines?" She spat back lighting-quick. That was more her usual mode of speech, not that tongue-twisted nonsense that she had encountered in his presence earlier today.

"No. Usually I'm much smoother." He answered with a laugh. "I was just curious how you came to have 'usual'." He explained just as Tracy set down their drinks. Her usual turned out to be a glass of red wine.

She was just about to ask Rawlings about himself, rather than explain her 'family connections' as it were, when she heard her Aunt Lanie's voice from across the bar. She closed her eyes briefly and prayed that she would remain unseen by the sassy black woman.

"Javier Esposito, that is utter nonsense!" She exclaimed as she walked into the bar. Apparently, Fate was against her this night, because just then Lanie looked straight at her. Or perhaps Fate decided to favor her after all, or Lanie read something, some pleading in her eyes, because she turned to Javi, whispered in his ear and they left. Now there were three women in her family that she owed, her mom, Katie, and her Aunt Lanie. Nope- Fate was still working against her, she decided.

"So, what made you want to be a cop?" she asked Rawlings.

"My father was a cop. He was killed in the line of duty. Took a bullet meant for his partner. I became a cop to honor him."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"What about you? Why did you become a journalist?"

"My father is a writer. I grew up with an intense love of literature. I wanted to be a journalist and write the truth."

"You and your family are close?" Rawlings inquired.

"Yeah." Her voice revealed some of the occasional frustration she felt for her family's habit of privacy invasion. The Detective just continued to watch her. "What?"

"You said yes, but you sounded like it was a touchy subject." He explained.

"No. I love my family and we are close. Too close sometimes. They are not shy in voicing their opinions."

"Ah." He laughed lightly. He had a great laugh; soft and warm. "My mom is the same way." He took a sip of his drink. "So, Knight, what is your favorite book?" He had no idea what he was getting into with that question.

"War and Peace." At his look of disbelieve she added, "in the original Russian." He gave a single nod and took a large swig as he tried to think of what to say next. Hanna was only just managing to keep her mirth to herself, her lips threatened to twitch into a smirk, but she held it back. She employed this test on all her first dates. When she was in high school, her mom had revealed that she had done the same thing her first year at Stanford. Hanna enjoyed the thought so much that she still employed it all these years later.

"I read War and Peace in high school, in English." Nate finally answered. Now it was her turn to be astonished.

"Really?" she asked without covering her surprise.

"Yes. I did. Did you really read it in Russian?"

"No, my mom read it to me in Russian as a child to send me to sleep."

"And that's your favorite book?" He asked with a laugh and a hint of challenge in his voice.

"No." she answered with a small smile in acknowledgement. "My favorite book is actually the Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. Don't laugh. She warned when his lips quirked up at the corners.

"Why is it your favorite?" His question actually surprised her. Most guys, when she gave them the real answer, if she gave them the real answer, scoffed at her choice, but Nate seemed genuinely interested.

"I love how the main character grows and overcomes the obstacles in her life."

A low buzz sounded. Rawlings glanced at this phone.

"I'm sorry. I need to take this, it's the Precinct." Hanna only nodded her understanding. She took this opportunity to observe him further. He was tall, taller than she was which was somewhat rare. His shirt was a deep green that matched his eyes. His shirt at the Precinct this morning had been white. She wondered if he had changed just for this date or if something had happened since this morning. "Rawlings…Yeah. Sure. I'll meet you there." He hung up his phone. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

"A case?"

"No a friend. I'd like to do this again sometime. How about coffee tomorrow?"

"I'm busy tomorrow. How about Friday?"

"Friday it is. Meet me at the Precinct at noon; we can walk to a nearby café?"

"Sure."

"Good night, Hanna." He said with a smile and was gone. Although it had been somewhat short, that had been a good first date. Hanna was glad she had accepted.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

**The next day…**

"Rookie? Hey Rookie. Rawlings!" Evans suddenly exclaimed trying to get his partner's attention.

Detective Nate Rawlings head snapped to the right to look at his partner, his green eyes still slightly glazed. He finally gave his head a small shake as if to clear his mind before blinking a time or two and answering.

"I'm sorry, Evans, what did you say?"

"You have been spacing off all morning. What is going on with you?" Evans asked in exasperation and a hint of concern.

"Sorry. I keep thinking about something that happened last night. Won't happen again." He answered, then lower his head to read the report in his hands.

"Oh, so Hanna told you then. Look, if the Captain hasn't said anything yet, then you're fine. No need to worry."

"Hmm? Worry about what?" He asked in confusion.

"Hanna."

"Hanna? What does the Captain have to do with Hanna and whether or not I ask her out?"

"Haha. She didn't tell you, did she?" The older man chuckled lightly. Seeing the continued confusion on his younger partner's face, Evans decided to inform Nate of Hanna's parentage. "She's her daughter."

"What?" Nate was suddenly even more confused. Hanna had said her last name was Knight, not Castle. Surely she wouldn't have lied.

"Hanna is the Captain's daughter. Don't you have eyes, she is the spitting image of the Captain from her days as a Detective except that her hair is a bit redder and her face is rounder." Nate was stunned, but before he could finish processing this information, his desk phone rang.

"Rawlings. Hey Peters. Yeah. Uh huh. Okay, we're on our way." He said as he hung the phone up. "Peters has something he wants to show us in the morgue." He informed his partner. The two men gathered up their coats and walked to the elevator. As the pasted the Captain's office, Detective Rawlings saw that her light was still off, meaning she was still at the Captain's meeting at 1PP. Gratitude at these fortuitous circumstances washed over him. He had gone on a date with the Captain's daughter without realizing it, and now that he knew the truth, he was terrified.

Rawlings had transferred from the 34th Precinct about 6 weeks ago. Javier Esposito was Captain at the 34th. He had worked closely with Captain Beckett-Castle and Chief of Police Kevin Ryan when they were all Detectives at the 12th. Rawlings felt a small amount of awe to have served under Captain Esposito and now Captain Beckett- Castle, and he had no desire to sour relations with his Captain by mixing his professional life with her private life. It was a good thing that Hanna had said she was busy until Friday, it gave him two days to figure out how to break it off gently. Too bad it had barely begun, he thought sadly.


	5. Chapter 4 Part 2

**On the Other Side of Town…**

"Thanks for coming with me, Hanna."

"Of course." She responded, her voice implicating that Katie should never have thought she would do otherwise.

"I know that Angela was found in the basement, but I'm still kinda creeped out by the idea of going to my apartment alone." Katie explained. Her voice was tinged with sadness and fear. The gray winter sky only made her already pale skin seem even paler.

"Maybe you should move out. Find a new place." She suggested.

"Maybe," Katie's sentence was interrupted by her third yawn that morning, "I will."

"Did you even sleep at all last night?"

"No." she answered morosely.

The two young woman had finally arrived at the apartment complex, and walked up to the second floor. Even though it hadn't been a crime scene yesterday, the police hadn't allowed her to enter the apartment due to the investigation, but her dad had assured her that today would be fine, so long as she didn't touch anything of her roommates.

Katie's eyes prickled with tears as she opened the door. She and Angela had only just met when they moved in together, but the realization that she would never see her again hit her with renewed energy at that moment. The senselessness of the whole affair overwhelmed the young woman, she had to close her eyes for a moment in order to compose herself before finally entering the living room. Everything looked exactly the same, even Angela's half-done laundry sitting on the couch. Katie almost wished that she hadn't even returned, but she needed her clothes and some of her art supplies to finish an assignment for one of her classes.

"You go into your room and grab what you need, and I will clean out the fridge, ok?" Hanna asked softly as she placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. She only nodded in reply, her throat still feeling tight with held back tears, as she turned to the left and went into her room. She would have to move, she decided. Katie was certain she would never again feel safe in this place.

Hanna carefully walked through the living room to avoid disturbing anything, until she reached the kitchen on the other side. The sink held two little coffee cups and a matching set of spoons that she decided to wash. Once that task was completed, she turned to the refrigerator. Anything that could spoil would need thrown out.

Hanna stopped sharply, her hand held still in midair only inches from the handle, and her eyes widening with horror. Take to the center of the fridge door was a photo of Katie sitting on a bench outside of the art building at Columbia, beside her sat Angela. This wouldn't have phased Hanna at all if it had been a copy of a selfie- Angela had been a photography major and loved to take selfies. But, this particular photo looked to have been taken from a distance and was slightly grainy with greenery obscuring a corner of the photo. Angela's face had been X-ed out with vicious strokes of a red pen, and Katie's was circled.


	6. Chapter 4 Part 3

**Back at the Precinct…**

"Hey Pete, whatcha got for us?" Dr. Girard Peters, AKA Pete, was a genuine genius. He graduated high school at 14, he would have done so sooner, but the school board wouldn't let him, so he graduated with his Bachelors in Biology at the same time, then he finished his PhD in Forensic Science four years later. Now at 20 years old, Pete was the Medical Examiner for the state of New York. However, his genius status would never be known based on his appearance. The young man had jet black hair and only wore ripped jeans, worn converse, and t-shirts of superheroes.

"So, like I said at the crime scene, Angela Jackson died due a single GSW to the chest. I plugged the slug, it was a .38."

"No one reported anything. He must have used a silencer." Rawlings interrupted.

"Stippling on the bullet suggests that scenario, yes. But, bruises on her arms also indicate that she struggled with her attacker first, so I swapped under her nails and sent DNA samples off for processing. I also found an indention on her skull; I suspect it was from the butt of the gun."

"Ok, so they struggled, she clawed him; he hit her and then shot her." Evans summed up the evidence thus far. "Was there anything else?"

"It could have been a woman." Rawlings said, earning a small frown from his elder partner.

"Two other things: I suspect sexual assault, but the evidence is inconclusive.-" Dr. Peters attempted to continue presenting his findings, only to be interrupted by the Detectives once again.

"So it was a guy." Evans inserted with a slight smirk.

"Not necessarily." Nate muttered under his breathe, but either his partner didn't hear him or he choose to ignore it.

"Anyway, one last thing: it's weird, but the killer wrote the Roman numeral two on her palm with her own blood."

"That is weird. When we found her, her hands were folded across her chest like she was sleeping. Which one was it?"

"The left. It was atop the right. There was so much blood from the gunshot that I almost missed it."

"Were you able to pull any prints off her?" Evans inquired.

"No. He must have been wearing gloves."

"Alright. Thanks Pete. Keep us updated if you find anything else." Evans threw over his shoulder as he walked out of the exam room, eager to return to his desk and catch the killer. That numeral two disturbed him and his instincts told him it would prove to be very important to the case.

"Right-o." Pete answered with a smile.

"Right-o?" Nate skeptically asked, his eyebrow cocked.

"Not good?" Pete asked as his smiled dimmed slightly. The young man, had been searching for a catch-phrase for weeks. Detective Evans thought the idea was nonsense, but Detective Rawlings, at least, was willing to help him find just the right one.

"No." The Detective answered with a small laugh. "Keep trying." Then he too left the room and joined his partner in front of the elevator.


	7. Chapter 5 Part 1

**Twelfth Precinct…**

To say that Detective Nate Rawlings was surprised to see Hanna stepping out of the Captain's office as he stepped out of the elevator at the Precinct, would be an understatement. He had not expected to see her until Friday. Today was Wednesday. He was supposed to have two more days to figure out what to say to her. Then the Captain stepped out as well.

"Detectives!" She yelled across the bullpen and waved them over. Seeing the two women side by side, Rawlings felt like an idiot that he hadn't noticed the resemblance earlier. He was a Detective, for crying out loud! It was his job to notice the details. Walking toward the Captain and Hanna, he felt like an even bigger idiot for not noticing the third woman standing behind them. Based on her posture and body language, almost as though she were cowering from some imaginary source, he rationalized that she was scared; more than scared really, the girl looked like she was terrified. This was only enhanced by the contrasting emotions of rage and determination displayed by Captain Beckett-Castle and her daughter. Nate glanced furtively over to his partner as he came to a stop; the slight smirk on the older cop's face told him that his partner thought he was an idiot too.

"Detectives, you remember Katie Ryan, of course; roommate of the victim." Kate placed a comforting arm around the young woman. The two men gave only brief nods of acknowledgement as she continued. "She has some new information on the case."

"How about we go sit in the break room while we talk? Do you drink coffee, Katie?" Nate asked gently as he pulled her away from his boss and guided her across the room.

"No thank you. But, tea would be nice, if you have any." Her voice quiet and withdrawn, just like the rest of her. Something was certainly very, very wrong. She had been shocked when they interviewed her yesterday, but this was something else entirely.

Kate stopped Detective Evans with a hand on his shoulder as he moved to follow his partner. A moment later, Hanna ceased to move as well, when she realized that her mom was not beside her. Kate had been watching and nudged her chin toward the break room, indicating that her daughter should continue following Detective Rawlings. When they were alone within earshot, she turned to the remaining Detective and demanded an update.

"Peters didn't have much for us that was concrete." He began. "He confirmed her death was from the gunshot, a .38. There was an indention on her head that he suspects was from the butt of the gun, and there was some DNA under her fingernails."

"So, she struggled her killer. Good, hopefully, that DNA will help us catch the SOB that much faster." Kate folded her arms over her chest. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Sir. This one is odd, and has me a little concerned. The killer wrote a Roman numeral two on her left palm before posing the body." A fierce frown instantly appeared on Kate's forehead as she mentally studied the implications of such information.

"You're right. That is an odd sock. Let's join the interview, then we can update the murder board and plan our strategy from there."

"Yes, Sir." Evans replied.


	8. Chapter 5 Part 2

Rawlings was just handing Katie a blue mug with a tea bag still in it when Evans and Kate entered the break room. Hannah stood a little ways apart, still silently fuming while clenching the mug in her hands tightly. Despite the fact that they had all grown up with cops for parents, none of the kids had been so involved in a case before, save when Alexis had been kidnapped as a young woman. The fact that some creep was now gunning for her cousin and best friend enraged the young woman. Kate could see all this clearly. She too felt rage well up within her, one that she hadn't felt since before she and Rick had had children.

Taking a seat on the old faded blue couch next to Katie, the Captain put her arm around the young woman. "Okay, kiddo. Just tell them what you told me, okay?"

She nodded slightly. "Hannah agreed to come with me to pick up some stuff from my apartment this morning. While I was in my room packing she found a photo of me and Angela on the fridge. Angie's face had a big red X on it and mine was circled."

"What time did you get to the apartment?"

"I'm not sure." The young woman answered.

"About 10:15." Hannah inserted. "I looked at my phone as we were walking up the stairs and saw the time."

"Was there anything else about the apartment that looked different?" Evans asked the two women.

"No." Katie's voice, while still small and filled with terror, sounded steadier than before. "Everything looked exactly the same."

"I didn't notice anything else either. But, after finding that photograph, I always didn't look. We left right away."

Just as Evans was about to speak again, Chief of Police Kevin Ryan rushed into the room. "Katie!" He exclaimed as he gathered his daughter into his arms and held her to himself tightly. Although the young woman's shock and terror had finally begun to lessen, the tears she withheld this whole time rushed to the surface and overflowed as she sat within the protective custody of her father's arms. "It's okay, baby, it's okay. I've got you."

By silent agreement, the others all left the room in order to give the father and daughter some privacy.

"Evans, Rawlings, get as many uniforms as you want and go back and resweeps the apartment. Take CSU and Pete with you."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right away Captain." As though practiced they turned at the same time and swiftly walked off to fulfill their orders.

"Hannah, I know that this is an important piece of information for your assignment, but for safety reasons, I must request that you do not include any details about what you found."

"Captain, my editor-" Hannah began to protest.

"Your editor may not like it, but as I said this is for safety reasons. Katie's and yours." Hannah almost protested again, but refrained from doing so as she attempted to follow her mother's line of thinking and anticipate the killer's next move.

"I don't think I am in danger, but I will do as you ask for now. But, I won't be able to keep this under wraps for long, and if someone else scoops us on this, my job could be on the line."

"I know, Honey. Just give us a day or two."

A moment later, the door to the breakroom reopened and the room's last remaining occupations exited. Ryan's clenched jaw and slightly paler than usual face indicated he was still very upset at this turn of events, but his shoulders were more relaxed than when he had first entered the room. His hand rested lightly on his daughter's shoulder keeping her close as though he could protect her with his presence alone.

"Thanks for calling Kate."

"Of course, Kev."

"I want Katie in protective custody. Can you arrange something for me?"

Kate nodded affirmatively. "How much security do you want? I can assigned a protective detail or we can find a safe house."

"No. I have assignments I have to finish. The semester is almost over and these count for the majority of my grade. If I go to a safe house, I can't turn them in and I won't graduate. I would have to take this semester all over again."

"Okay, kiddo. You have been staying with Beth right? Why don't you stay with your parents until this is settled and I will assign Sargent Hastings as your primary guard with some uniforms to back her up. Does that sound okay?"

"That sounds fine Aunt Kate."

"Kev?"

"Perfect Kate. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll call Anne and let her know about her reassignment. You are welcome to wait for her wherever you want."


End file.
